Note from Lincoln spares soldier’s life

Abraham Lincoln declared the end of slavery with his Emancipation Proclamation. But he also reviewed death sentences of soldiers who were court-martialed during the Civil War.

Slate's David Plotz renewed interest in one such hand-written note he saw after he toured the National Archives' vaults recently.

The document immortalizes Lincoln's decision to spare a soldier's life. Michael Delaney had deserted one Colorado regiment in 1862, but was fighting for another when he was arrested. Lincoln overturned the death sentence since the man had re-enlisted, writing with dazzling succinctness,

Let him fight instead of being shot. A Lincoln

As Slate's Plotz noted, "I guess it's not surprising that the author of the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural Address could manage to convey humanity, common sense, and a flash of dark wit in just seven words."

A post on the Facebook page (yes, it has one) of the Foundation for the National Archives adds, "This document is a great example of how even the tiniest margin notes can make a record breathtaking."